Finger-tip shield



May 31, 1955 E. P. BRITE 2,709,443

FINGER-TIP SHIELD Filed Jan. 23, 1953 Inventor: Elizabeth P. Brite her Aflorney Unite States Patent FlNGER-TIP SHELD Elizabeth P. Brita, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application January 23, 1953, Serial No. 332,787

2 Claims. (Cl. 132-88.5)

The present invention relates to finger-tip shields useful in the application of a liquid coating to the finger nail as is now a custom of some women in manicuring their finger nails and, more particularly, is an improvement in such shields.

Many previously proposed shields and devices for protecting the skin at the ends of fingers, while applying a liquid coating to the nails of the human hand, or to otherwise assist in such application of coating, are impractical and complicated and of little utility. However, a simple and useful device for this purpose is shown and described in United States Patent No. 2,396,154 and comprises a relatively stiff thin sheet, somewhat palette-form in shape, having four finger notches in and along its convexed edge sized to receive therein the ends of the fingers of a hand with the edge of said notches extending between the underside of the nail tip and the adjacent flesh of the finger and having a single notch centrally positioned in the opposite concaved edge of said sheet or card to similarly receive the end or tip of thumb of said hand during the application of said coating to the top surface of the nails of said fingers, including the thumb.

The drawback to this prior art finger-tip shield is, however, that it is useful with only a set of fingers of the same or approximately the same size and, because of the arrangement of the thumb notch relative to the finger notches, it is designed to be firmly held in position by all five fingers during the application of a coating to the nails thereof; and, since it is well known that the ends of the fingers of the hands of all persons are not of the same size (even difierent fingers on the same hand), it is necessary to provide a multiplicity of such finger shields, each with difierent sized notches so that the user may select a finger shield having finger notches of a size to properly fit and protect the finger tips with which it is to be used.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of such prior finger-tip shields and to provide a very simple finger-tip shield that has universal use by all prospective users, thereby eliminating the necessity of providing a multiplicity of finger shields for selection by the users thereof.

The shield of the present invention is accomplished by providing a relatively thin and narrow elongated body member or strip of sheet-like material of form-sustaining stifiness having each of its opposite longitudinal edges formed with a spaced series of inwardly extending arcuate notches or recesses, each of said notches being of different preselected width and depth and each notch of each series being substantially aligned transversely of said shield with a notch on the other side of said shield. The notches are shaped so as to receive the finger-tip of a human hand with the marginal edge portion of the notch inserted under the nail to lie astride or coextensive with its juncture with underlying epidermis and adjoining sides of a finger to the cutis. With this arrangement, the shield may be provided with a large number of notches of different sizes, any one of which may be selected that best fits and shields a particular finger to be coated, while the thumb of the hand engages in an oppositely positioned notch to hold the shield firmly in position. The narrow oblong shape of the shield enables it to be placed in the usual box containing the bottle of finger nail polish or lacquer.

While the principal objects and advantages of the pres: ent shield have'been set forth generally above, other objects and advantages thereof will be manifest from the following detailed specification of one preferred form of the invention as at present devised and from which a better understanding may be had of the invention.

In the drawing which illustrates one form of the invention, by way of example:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the finger shield embodying the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a view showing the shield in use.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in which like characters of reference denote similar and like parts throughout, the several views thereof, the protective finger-tip shield of this invention comprises an elongated thin narrow strip 10 of form-sustaining, but flexible, material such as Celluloid, other plastic material, fiber or cardboard (treated or untreated), metal or the like, having one of its longitudinal edges formed with a series of spaced notches or recesses 11 and its opposite longitudinal edge formed with a similar series of spaced notches or recesses 12.. The notches of the two series of notches 11 and 12 are arranged in substantially opposite alignment, respectively, and each notch is defined by a substantially semi-circular edge extending inwardly and transversely of said strip 10 so as to receive the end of a finger of a human hand.

with the marginal portion 11 or 12* of the notch inserted under the nail to lie astride of and substantially coextensive with the juncture of the nail with the epidermis and to cover the adjoining sides of the finger to the cutis thereof. Since the size of fingers varies considerably among different persons, and even on the same hand of the same person, a large number of notches are, preferably, provided, each of a preselected and different width and depth from the others so that one notch at a time may be selected which best fits a finger of the hand, when the end of the finger is inserted therein to give the protection desired to the under-surface of the nail and adjacent portions of the finger.

The shield 10 is held in its protective position by the thumb of the same hand engaging in an opposite notch and exerting a counterpressure on the shield as illustrated in Figure 2. When the thumb is to be coated, the proper fitting notch will be selected therefor and one of the fingers (preferably the index or middle finger) will engage an opposite notch in the manner just explained. It is not necessary that the finger or the thumb, when merely functioning to hold the shield in place, engage a notch that fits the same for shielding purposes as the notch so engaged thereby merely serves as a convenient reference point and socket at which to apply the counter-holding pressure whereby the shield may be evenly and steadily held in proper position during the coating of the nail to be coated. The fingers not in use, during this coating of any one nail, may be outstretched, as shown in Fig. 2, or bent toward the palm of the hand and underly the shield, while contacting the then underside of the shield, to give additional support to the latter should such support be found necessary.

As illustrated, it is proposed for convenient and easy selection of the notches for any one finger that the notches of each series, on opposite sides of the shield, be of successively graduated dimensions and of different sizes than the notches of the other series, substantially as shown. In practice eight or ten notches of different sizes have been found most satisfactory to meet or accommodate the varying sizes and formations of ends of fingers and thumbs of women who are now the only ones wont to coat their finger nails, although a greater number of notches of varying size can be employed in the shield to meet extraordinary cases.

From the above it will be clear that the finger-tip shield of this invention is one that may be used universally by most any woman irrespective of the size or formation of the end of her fingers and that, by having two opposite series of finger-tip receiving notches in an elongated narrow shield and selectively inserting the end of the finger or thumb into the notch best fitting the same, and engaging an oppositely disposed notch with t1 e thumb or a finger, as the case may be, the shield is firmly gripped and held in protecting position during the application of a coating material to the nail of the finger or thumb selected to be coated or painted. Any polish or paint which is applied to the shield may be easily removed therefrom by the usual remover liquid.

Having thus described and illustrated the present invention and the manner in which it is to be performed, it will be obvious that certain changes, variations or modifications may be made thereto; and, therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact form therein described and shown but only by the spirit thereof and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A finger-tip shield for protecting the adjacent portions of the end of a finger while applying a coating to the nail thereof, comprising an oblong body member of relatively thin sheet-like material, a series of spaced arcuate notches formed in and along each longitudinal edge of said member, said notches each being of difierent dimensions and having their marginal edge portions thin enough to be inserted astride the end of a finger between the underside of the projecting end of its nail and the underlying adjacent epidermis of the finger, the notches of each series being arranged in substantially opposite alignment transversely of said member, whereby said shield may be universally used by a large number of persons having different sized fingers by selecting a notch that best fits a particular finger or thumb, to be coated, and the shield held firmly in its protecting position by engaging the opposing notch in the opposite edge of the member by a thumb or finger of the same hand, as the case may be.

2. A finger-tip shield for protecting the adjacent portions of the end of a finger while applying a liquid coating to the nail of the finger, comprising an elongated relatively narrow strip of thin sheet-like flexible material substantially of form-sustaining stiffness, a series of spaced arcuate notches formed along each longitudinal edge of said strip and extending inwardly from said longitudinal edge, the marginal edge portions of said notches being thin enough to be inserted between the underside of the projecting end of the nail and the underlying adjacent epidermis of a finger, the notches of each series being successively of predetermined increased width and depth, and the notches of each series being positioned in substantial opposite alignment with a correspondingly opposite notch of the other series and being of different size than the notches of the other series, whereby said shield is adapted for universal use by a number of persons, each having fingers of varying sizes from those of some of said persons, by selecting a notch that best tits the end of a finger or thumb to be coated and the shield held firmly in its inserted protective position by engaging a thumb f finger, as the case may be, against the oppositely positioned notch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,396,154 Campbell Mar. 5, 1946 

